Poke Virus Outbreak
by Pokemon Ranger-Trainer
Summary: Team Plasma rules the world and is hunting down Poke Morphs who have felt the effects of a thing called the Poke Virus. Hyron, an Eevee Morph, is among the Poke Morphs in hiding. What will his fate and that of his friends be? Rated T just to be safe. The summary is not as good as the story. I think it's safe to say that this has happened to a lot of us fanfiction authors.
1. Hiding

**I do not own Pokémon, but there are OC's that I do own. As far as I know, I also own the concept of the Poké Virus. However, I am not sure who thought up of the idea of Poké Morphs. It's widely held, I guess. Anyways, enjoy. I'll try to put as much of my thoughts as I can into this story. I have a really good feeling about it. I was actually going to hold off a little longer on uploading this, but the feeling I had about this was so good I could not wait any longer! **

**Chapter 1: Hiding**

There I was, sitting in our hideout. Oh, I am Hyron. After an incident several years ago, I had been an Eevee Poké Morph. My ears were long, like that of an Eevee. I also had a long Eevee tail that I would often cuddle with whenever I was frightened or nervous. I had friends who were Poké Morphs. There was Eddie, a pure human. He had volunteered to help us out a bit. He hated Team Plasma. There was Sakura. She was half Vulpix. The hair on top of her head was dark red and curled, like a Vulpix. She also has six crimson red tails. These were the two of my friends who were present with me at the time. There were others in out group. Others in hiding.

"We can't let Ghetsis find us," Sakura reminded us. She knew she didn't have to say it. Avoiding Team Plasma was second (maybe third) nature to us now. Other teams such as Team Rocket had joined up with them under Ghetsis' supreme rule. Several years ago, Team Galactic had created a thing called the Poké Virus. It was tested out on a Trainer named Dawn, who had grown a Pachirisu tail and matching ears. Then, there was some sort of accident and an international outbreak of the stuff. More than half of the world's population was affected.

"Seems legit, but you don't need to tell us 78 times," Eddie claimed firmly. "When are the others getting back?"

"Well, Ziggy and Leon should be back any minute," I recalled and informed softly. Ziggy was a Zigzagoon Morph. Ziggy wasn't his real name, though. We just called him that. Leon was Shinx Morph. He was a nice guy. He always saw the brighter side of things. In our day-to-day situation, that was a quality we needed.

"They better be here soon. I have to go soon. I'm supposed to fly some small cargo to the Sevii Islands tonight," Eddie informed Sakura and I. "And what about everyone else?"

"Hyron and I aren't the only Poké Morphs here. Ralph is here," Sakura reminded him. Ralph was a Sceptile Morph. He was a tough Poké Morph and Trainer. What? We may have been half Pokémon, but we were Trainers as well.

"Hey, all," Ash greeted. He was on a journey until…_it_ happened. Since then, he had been a Pikachu Morph, which included having Pikachu ears and a lightning bolt tail, as well as two brown stripes on his back that you couldn't see unless he took off his shirt. And his girlfriend, Misty, was a Marill Morph. She had a rubbery Marill tail and round Marill ears. Ash had a Pikachu of his own that was perched on his shoulder. Misty held her Azurill in her arms. She was a Gym Leader in Cerulean City before the Poké Virus incident.

"Hey, Ash. Hi, Misty," I greeted them. I liked them. They have been so nice to me since we met.

"I think it's going to rain," Misty claimed. Sakura let out a groan. She did not like rainy days. "Where are the others?"

"Ziggy and Leon are probably fooling around again," Eddie sighed. "Did you guys hear that I have an important flight tonight?"

"Really? Where to?" Ash asked.

"The Sevii Islands."

"Wow. I hear that there is a lot there. I would have loved to go there."

"It's too bad that those islands are Team Plasma territory. And Prima tried so hard to protect it…" Misty trailed off. Prima, also known as Lorelei, was once an Elite Four member for the Kanto and Johto regions (since they share a league), but retired the position to live on Four Island, the island where she grew up. Team Plasma took the island and its surrounding islands by force, overpowered Prima, and she disappeared. As for other members of any Elite Four, I can only wonder what happened to them. I know Karen, a Dark-type specialist, became an Umbreon Morph. I think Bruno remained unaffected, but hid in the mountains anyway. One event had changed the entire world…

"Eddie, what are you carrying to the Sevii Islands?" I suddenly asked.

"It's confidential. I don't even know," Eddie sighed.

Ralph came downstairs. He had a leafy tail like a Sceptile. He also had the leafed wrists of one. He greeted, "Hello, everyone." His greeting wasn't a warm and fuzzy greeting. Just an acknowledgement. "Are Ziggy and Leon back yet?"

Just then, Ziggy darted in and dashed around the room. His hair was a zigzag pattern of brown and white. He had a matching tail, too. Leon followed him in. He had the large ears of a Shinx and the tail of one, too. His eyes were glowing yellow like one. Ziggy had a burlap sack full of stuff that he had collected randomly from the streets. He took out a hubcap and begged Ralph, "Can we put this on the wall? Please!"

"No! I'm sick of you asking me to put your junk on the wall!" Ralph snapped. "I was hoping that your Pickup ability would come in handy!"

Something in Ziggy's bag caught my eye. I reached into it and pulled out a berry. It was an Oran Berry. I asked, "Ziggy, where did you find this?"

"Outside the city! I found all sorts of fruit and berries! And this sign!" Ziggy showed me his bag, and then pulled out a sign stating that the Saffron Gym was closed. It had been closed for a while. All the Gyms had been closed, which was why Ash had to stop his journey. The Battle Frontier had suffered the same restrictions. Some of the Frontier Brains were Poké Morphs. I think Anabel, the Brain of the Battle Tower, was an Espeon Morph. There were others, too. After sheltering Anabel, Spenser, head of the Battle Palace, had to flee his area.

"You weren't supposed to take the sign," Eddie sighed.

"That's what I tried to tell him!" Leon claimed. "He wouldn't listen! But at least we found some more food."

"We didn't have a problem with food supply," Ralph claimed bitterly.

"It…it is better to have extra," I claimed in a small voice. I held my fluffy tail in my palms, just in case he would yell at me. But he never did. Instead, he spared me a glance and a smile. He must have seen my point. I released my tail and smiled back.

"What else did you find?" Ralph asked Ziggy. Ziggy took out a first aid kit. Ralph suddenly looked pleased. "There we go! Something incredibly useful! Great job, Ziggy!"

"I should go soon," Eddie announced. "I have to pilot a plane for a long trip and if I want to have some inside information, I don't want to peeve off the horrible dictatorship that is Team Plasma."

"Good luck," Sakura wished him. Eddie saluted to us and snuck out the door after making sure no one saw him.

"I wonder what he's carrying," Leon wondered as he sat down next to me. It must have been important. Sakura scooted over to the other side of me.

"Let's go steal it!" Ziggy suggested hyperactively.

"You'd have to be insane. We'd be busted as Poké Morphs, and we'd get Eddie in trouble," Ash tried to reason with him.

"Even Ash isn't that reckless," Misty added. Ash glared at her, to which she responded, "Oh, you know I love you."

"Yeah, I do," Ash shrugged and gave her a hug. Pikachu made a face, which made Azurill snicker.

Sakura, Leon, and I got up. Everyone went about to do their business. I took a shower and washed my tail thoroughly. I got out, dried off, got dressed, cleaned my long ears, and went back downstairs.

"Did the water feel nice?" Ralph asked when he saw my. I nodded. I shook out whatever water remained in my hair and fur. Ziggy was trying to hang his hubcap on the wall. He and Leon were definitely the youngest. Sakura and I were just a couple years younger than Ash, Misty, and Ralph.

We all gathered at our round table, which was big enough to hold the seven of us. We all took our seats. Ziggy looked very excited to eat. Ralph looked at us with a grim expression on his face. He said, "Before we start eating, I have some bad news. Hyron, you may want to grab your tail for this." He paused. Everyone looked nervous. As Ralph guessed, I did want to cuddle with my Eevee tail. And so I did. He went on, "Last night, five Poké Morphs were murdered. Brutally murdered. This crud with Team Plasma has gone too far!"

"Who died?" Sakura asked.

"I think they all were Bug-type Morphs," Ralph answered. Just then, there was a knock on our door. The Sceptile Morph muttered, "Who could that be?" When Ralph opened the door, his grumpiness faded. It was our old friend and fellow Poké Morph, Damoré. He was an Absol Morph. He had long white hair and a dark horn growing out the side of his head. He also had the blade-like tail of an Absol. He usually concealed his horn with a hood. Ralph welcomed Damoré in.

"Sorry if I interrupted anything," Damoré apologized.

"Eh, nothing important," Ralph shrugged.

"Hi, Damoré!" Leon greeted excitedly. He stood on his chair and waved to him. I told him to get down and that if he was not careful, he would break his head. He took my word for it and got down.

"So, this is your crew? Yeah, I think I remember you all. Uh…Ash, Misty, Sakura, Hyron, Leon, and…Ziggy?" Damoré guessed.

"Yes!" Ziggy exclaimed.

"Wasn't there some pure human helping you out from behind enemy lines?" Damoré asked openly.

"He must mean Eddie," Sakura guessed.

"Eddie had to go to the Sevii Islands," I stated. Damoré nodded, acknowledging the fact that I said to him.

Damoré walked over to me and rubbed a hand on my head. He said to Ralph, "It looks like you have a decent group here, Ralph." I smiled, happy to have some affection and acknowledgment like this.

"Yeah," Ralph nodded. "We're a smart bunch. That's why we haven't been caught."

"Knock on wood. Team Plasma is getting more oppressive," Damoré informed us. I shuddered. Team Plasma was awful. Ghetsis was, as Eddie had always said, a ruthless dictator. Everything was his or it was destroyed. Damoré continued, "They destroyed the Pewter Museum. I'm sure you all heard about that."

"Yeah. It happened last month," Sakura recalled, playing with one of her six tails.

"That was just to set an example," Damoré continued. Every time I hear about them or something they did, the sky seems grayer. Misty and Ash looked the most horrified. They had a friend from Pewter City. While they knew he was alright, they could not help but worry. Just about every city and town in Kanto was a shadow of what it once was. Kanto was a shadow of its former self. All the regions were like this. Because some Pokémon Rangers were affected by the Poké Virus, Chairperson Erma and Professor Hastings had to shut down the Pokémon Ranger Union. It was either that or the Rangers who were affected get executed. The whole world was under Ghetsis' cruel, crushing fingers. They would go all out even if they were facing a small child like Ziggy or Leon, or even a smaller child. They had frozen most of the Unova region. They terrorized the rest of the regions.

"What can we do about Team Plasma?" Leon asked. I gave him a sad smile. If he saw hope, the rest of us could, too. This was why everyone needs an optimist.

"Whatever we can, I guess," Ralph shrugged. He scanned all of our faces.

"Ralph, how long do we have to keep hiding?" Ziggy suddenly blurted out. Ralph had a look on his face that said he was thinking it over. Then, his face turned from thoughtful to angry and he slammed his Sceptile tail against the wall.

"Ugh! I hate Team Plasma!" he shouted. Damoré and Ash grabbed his shoulders and shook him, bringing him back to his senses. He looked towards Ziggy and Leon. They looked frightened, so he said to them, "Sorry for scaring you. It's just…Team Plasma is ruining everyone's lives."

My long ears drooped. He was right. But that was already an accomplished topic long ago. Everyone else's reaction to Ralph's words was similar to mine. They were sad and accepting of the fact. Even Leon and Ziggy looked bummed out. Sakura let her head rest in her palms. Ash smiled as if he had come up with some sort of idea. "Who wants to watch a movie?"

"A movie?" Misty repeated.

"Yeah! So we can get our minds off of things! Remember my buddy Luke from Unova?"

"Didn't he want to be some sort of movie producer?" I asked.

"Yeah. He even let me be in a couple of his movies. It was awesome! I heard that he had an amazing career working at Pokéstar Studios!"

"Ooh! That sounds exciting!" Ziggy said in awe. His zigzag pattern tail was wagging.

"Yeah, but Team Plasma closed Pokéstar Studios unless they want to make a documentary about themselves and their research and the mess that they've made of the world," Ralph muttered.

"Ralph, don't think like that. We'll figure something out," Misty tried to reassure.

"Misty is right," Leon agreed.

"We can't let them keep bullying Poké Morphs," Sakura added.

"What can we do?!" Ralph snapped at them. They all shrank away.

"Actually, there may be someone who can help. Two people even. The ones chosen by Zekrom and Reshiram. Zekrom and Reshiram should be able to stand up to Kyurem, which Ghetsis is controlling. But it's risky. Ghetsis still has the DNA Splicers. He could fuse one of them with Kyurem," Damoré reminded us. "We have more than just the people in this room. I think that we should get in contact with N, wherever he is. He'd be one of the biggest helps right now."

"Hey, guys, do you think that the Splicers could be used as another method of creating Poké Morphs?" Sakura asked.

"The DNA Splicers are really meant for Kyurem, but I'm guessing that as soon as the idea crosses Ghetsis' mind, some poor Pokémon and some poor human somewhere will be the first to find out," Damoré answered her. "Ghetsis and his researchers sure treat us Poké Morphs like guinea pigs."

"It's an awful thing. His Shadow Triad kind of scares me. They're so mysterious, eerie, and their abilities are inhuman," I claimed. The Shadow Triad really did scare me. "Don't they have some sort of history that compels them to be ever-loyal to Ghetsis?" Damoré nodded to me. So I continued to question. "How did they meet him, then?"

"To be honest, Hyron, no one really knows. He supposedly saved them, but that's all anyone truly knows about their history with Ghetsis. That's all anyone may ever know. They're a secretive bunch. And to think that the Seven Sages have split up. Rood is still loyal to N, but Zinzolin is with Ghetsis all the way."

"Hey, Damoré…how do you know so much about Team Plasma?"

"Well, Hyron, my home region is Unova. I grew up in Lacunosa Town, which was right by the Giant Chasm where Kyurem slept. Everyone in Unova knows the history of Team Plasma. Everyone else knows a good part of it."

"And the other teams like Team Rocket, Team Galactic, and that old man who ran the Pokémon Pinchers; they all joined Team Plasma, branching off of it," Ralph added. Chills ran down my spine and up my tail. The thought of all of those bad guys in unity was a very scary thought. They were bad enough separate.

"I think it would help if we got in contact with the ex-Rangers," Ash spoke up. My ears perked up. Ash and Misty had told us so many amazing things about their Ranger friends.

"And some of the other ex-Gym Leaders," Misty added. She used to be a Gym Leader back when the Gyms still ran legally.

"Well, we ought to call them up soon," Ralph said to them. He had officially approved of getting in contact with some of the others who despised Team Plasma and their domination of the world.

"Something just occurred to me. Where did you say Eddie was again?" Damoré asked.

"He was running cargo to the Sevii Islands, but he was never told what the cargo was," I reminded him.

"Hmm…" Damoré had a look on his face that told us he was thinking very hard about that cargo.

"Indeed," Sakura agreed playfully and teasingly. I smiled and held back snickers. She always had a way to make me laugh, or at least crack a smile.


	2. The Original Poké Morph

**Chapter 2: The Original Poké Morph**

The following day, Sakura and I were patrolling Saffron City for Team Plasma hunters. So far, we had found none. We had just passed the old Silph Co. building when I thought I heard crying coming from a nearby alley. My ears perked upwards when I heard it. I called out my friend's name. "Sakura, wait!" The Vulpix Morph turned around in question, and I gesture for her to follow me into the alley. "I think I heard something." I ran down the alley and heard her footsteps following mine. I found a girl curled up against a dumpster. She had a long white tail with a blue streak down the middle. I recognized it as a Pachirisu tail. She wore a white cap that seemed to poorly conceal pointy ears. With her forearms and knees, she had hidden her face, but she had long navy blue hair pouring from her cap. She wore a black top and a small pink skirt. Her pink boots were muddy and worn.

"Don't let them get me," the girl wept. "Don't let them get me."

"Are you okay?" I asked the Pachirisu Morph. No answer. Instead, she wept the same phrase over and over.

"We should get her back to the others," Sakura suggested. She asked the girl, "What's your name?"

"D-Dawn," she answered. She looked up, and Sakura found ourselves staring at the face of a girl our age. She had sapphire blue eyes. Dawn. I recognized the name. She was the first one ever to have been affected by the Poké Virus. She was the original Poké Morph. She was staring at us the way we were staring at her. "Y-you're Poké Morphs, too?"

"I'm Hyron. I am an Eevee Morph," I introduced myself.

"And I'm Sakura, a Vulpix Morph," Sakura followed my lead. "You're an old friend of Ash. We'll take you to him."

"You know Ash?" Dawn asked in amazement. Her face lit up. "Any friend of his is a friend of mine!" Just as everything was starting to turn somewhat happy, we heard thunder. I jumped. The sound of the thunder had caught me off guard. It began to rain. Wanting to get out of the rain quick, Sakura and I helped Dawn to her feet. At first, her knees buckled, but she remained standing. We guided her back to the hideout. I found myself in front of the two girls. I was a bit of a fast runner, and the abilities of Eevee, Run Away and Adaptability, were in my gene pool. Run Away had made me faster. Sakura, Dawn, and I got back to the hideout. We were drenched.

"Dawn?" Ash and Misty called as soon as they saw her.

"We found her crying in an alley," Sakura informed them. Ralph heard this upon walking in. He tossed one towel to me and another to Sakura. I gave mine to Dawn. Ladies first, and it was the least she deserved after all she had been through. When Ralph came back, he saw this, and tossed me the other towel.

"You found the squirrel girl in an alley, huh?" Ralph repeated what he had heard. He approached Dawn, his Sceptile tail swaying behind him. He eyeballed her for a moment, sighed, and said, "I guess we have to take her in. No Poké Morph left behind. Especially not now. I'm starting to get the feeling that the confidential item Eddie was flying to the Sevii Islands was the DNA Splicers. Probably to store them."

"There's a scary thought," Misty muttered.

"An even scarier thought would be Ghetsis being able to use them on Kyurem and either of the two other dragons, Reshiram and Zekrom."

Ziggy and Leon came downstairs and saw us all. They saw Dawn; a new face to them. Ziggy began to bounce around excitedly. "Who is this? Who is it? Who is she?" When Dawn looked Leon's way, the young Shinx Morph blushed.

"Boys, this is Dawn…the very first Poké Morph," I introduced them to her. Ziggy stopped bouncing. I continued, "Sakura and I found her in an alley just before it started raining. We brought her back her to help her out. Dawn, the bouncy Zigzagoon Morph is Ziggy. The Shinx Morph is Leon."

"Nice to meet you both," Dawn smiled. Leon suddenly blushed an even redder shade. He, like me, also had the tendency to be very quiet and almost wallflower like. Almost. Poké Morphs…tended to stand out. We couldn't help it. How can we when we have tails, horns, wings, tentacles, claws, and/or any other not-average body parts?

"Dawn, where is Lucas? I thought he would be with you," Ash asked. The name, which was unfamiliar to me, made Dawn look down in sadness. She bit her lower lip, revealing her Pachirisu overbite. Ash then gasped, "No! You don't mean—they took him prisoner, right?" She nodded and a tear rolled down her cheek and dripped from her chin. Then, another tear appeared and went down the same path. Soon, the tears were flowing and seemed almost endless.

"H-he was one of the few pure humans that had promptly resisted Team Plasma. He had no intention of fighting them from the inside, even though many others did. So…they beat him have to death and hauled him away! He's probably rotting in Ghetsis' palace now!" Dawn sobbed. "H-h-his last words to me were 'You have to run. I love you, Dawn.' He gave me a kiss goodbye, and then they found him. I managed to get away. Why did he have to be such a good boyfriend and sacrifice himself?! Why didn't he run with me?! It's not fair! It's not fair! It's just not fair!" She curled up in the fetal position on the floor and cried. Little Leon was twisting his tail in his hands. He approached her, knelt down, and one of his hands went from his tail to her shoulder, and he began to rub her arm in an attempt to comfort her.

"We have to get Lucas back," Ash muttered to everyone else. I nodded in agreement. So did Sakura, Misty, and Ziggy.

"Are you crazy? Ghetsis' palace is in Unova! We're in Kanto! Not only do we have to worry about concealing ourselves, we have to worry about oversea transportation!" Ralph snapped in a low voice. "I won't let that whack-job Ghetsis win!"

"I didn't mean right away. But in the end, we have to get him back," Ash tried to reason. Sensing an argument coming on, I grabbed my Eevee tail and whimpered as my ears drooped.

"What end?! The only thing that will end is our lives if Team Plasma gets their hands on us!" Ralph argued.

"But they're trying to use Lucas as a hostage to break Dawn! Don't you see it, Ralph?" Ash raised his voice at him.

"I think the antagonists used a similar tactic in a book I once read," Misty recalled.

"We've told you the story, Ralph," Ash continued. "The Poké Virus used to be…well, not the way it is now. It was only compatible with a certain genetic coding. Dawn's DNA was a perfect match. She's basically been a genetic guinea pig ever since! She contains the original Poké Virus, and Ghetsis may want that."

"To compare with the modern Poké Virus?" Sakura asked.

"Exactly," Ash nodded. Ralph went silent. I suddenly learned a lot. When Team Galactic had first developed the Poké Virus, it was tested out on Dawn to see if it would do what it was supposed to. Then, someone improved upon it, and now Team Plasma was using it to their advantage.

"Don't cry, Dawn," Leon was trying to comfort. Eventually, Dawn uncurled her body, sniffled, got up, and asked where the bathroom was so she could wash up.

"I'm kind of worried about her. She doesn't seem quite all there. Poor thing…" Sakura muttered. I decided to go upstairs. We all needed a bit of time to collect our thoughts. Ash and I shared a bedroom, and I plopped down on my bed. Sakura came in and greeted, "Hey, Hyron."

"Hi, Sakura," I returned the greeting. I noticed that the hair on my head was getting a bit long. My brown bangs covered my eyebrows. "Do you think I should get a haircut?"

"I like your hair long. It's cute. Plus, it suits your personality," she said to me.

"Thanks," I thanked her. "So, Dawn seems to have had a rough past couple of years."

"Yeah…the poor thing. Her boyfriend let himself get captured to save her. That sure is brave. I bet that Lucas really cares about her," she said thoughtfully, and I nodded in agreement. Dawn has had a rough past couple of years and Lucas probably did care about her very much, and Dawn seemed to be very affected by her boyfriend's sacrifice. She seemed so sad and a bit out of it. I wondered what was happening to Lucas at that very moment.

"We should go downstairs," I suggested. We went downstairs to find Leon still blushing a tad and playing with his tail, Ash and Misty talking to each other and leaning against a wall, and Ziggy chasing his own tail just to amuse himself. Ralph and Damoré were in the kitchen, discussing some important things. Probably recent Plasma activity. Their idea of guilty pleasure was taking the bodies of the Shadow Triad and hanging them up as trophies. Once, when openly stating this, they gave Leon and Ziggy nightmares for a week.

"…Look, Ralph, Sophia means a lot to me! You're my partner, so why don't you understand this?" we overheard Damoré shout. Ziggy stopped chasing his tail to listen. Sophia was Damoré's girlfriend, a Liepard Morph. "Besides, we can cover more ground with her!"

"What happened to those days when it was just you and me exploring?" Ralph demanded.

"Ralph, I know what you're thinking! She doesn't hate you!" Damoré stated. "You're more paranoid about her than you are about Team Plasma!"

"Well, you could have at least asked me before inviting her over to _my_ hideout!" Ralph chided.

"It's an old apartment building! Get over it! Besides, you only use the bottom and second floor! Do you see what we're doing to ourselves! We can't fight over someone else! We're best friends, Ralph! We need to have each other's back! Now more than ever!"

"Fine. I'll drop it. When is she getting here?" we heard Ralph asked. Ironically timed, there was a knock on the door. Sophia walked in. She was tall, slim, had blue eyes, a Liepard tail, and purple hair with yellow Liepard spots. She also had an air of cat-like finesse around her. Oh, Leon blushed wildly. He had done this before around Sophia, but she seemed not to mind…or even notice.

"Damoré?" she purred out his name. The Absol Morph walked out of the kitchen to see her. "Damoré, there's something happening at the Vermillion docks. I think you, Ralph, and I should check it out."

Ralph charged out. "What? What's happening?"

"Not sure, but there is a bunch of creepy looking boats. Plus, Zinzolin is there."

Just hearing the Sage's name gave me shivers. Zinzolin was a ruthless Ice-type specialist and had remained ever loyal to Ghetsis. His usual Pokémon generally consisted of Cryogonal and Weavile. Ralph nodded, "Okay. The three of us will check it out. Everyone else is to stay put." He, Damoré, and Sophia trotted out the door and headed south to what was once Vermillion City. We were all worried. It was a horrible idea for anyone to go within the line of sight of those ships. Those ships…they were likely of the same kind that froze over Unova. But there were only one of those then. Now, there were more. There were more of those horrid air boats. Those things were infested with Team Plasma grunts and Ralph, Sophia, and Damoré knew it. I hoped that they would be more careful than usual.


	3. Ralph Steals an Airship

**Chapter 3: Ralph Steals an Airship**

That night, Ash and I were lying in our beds, conversing with each other. I asked for his opinion, "Do you think they will be alright?"

"Hyron, I'm sure they will be fine. You've seen Ralph when he gets aggressive—or, more aggressive than usual," Ash tried to comfort and reassure me. For the most part, he had succeeded, but my instincts kept whispering that something was going to go wrong.

"Pikachu, Pika, Pika," Pikachu told me. I knew it was saying 'Don't worry, Hyron'. Being half-Pokémon, understanding the Pokémon language was pretty easy for Poké Morphs like Ash and I. Then again, Ash always, even before becoming a Poké Morph, knew what Pikachu was saying.

My ears perked up when I heard a small, "Vee?" An Eevee—my Eevee—crawled out from under my bed. I picked it up and held it to my chest. Ash and I were kind of lucky. We were the Poké Morphs of our favorite companion Pokémon, and that did not happen as often as it would appear to. I had other Pokémon, too. However, Eevee was always the one to remain outside the Poké Ball.

"So, what do you think Leon thinks of Dawn?" Ash asked playfully.

My reply was: "Well, he seems smitten." I chuckled at the end of the sentence. At the tender age of nine, Leon has had a few kid crushes. One was with Sophia, who was ten and a half years older than him. One time, I saw him reading a magazine, and his Shinx tail shot up and stiffened when he saw a picture of Elesa, a model and Gym Leader in the Unova region. Now, he liked Dawn. Hopefully, he would soon find someone within his age range.

"Yeah," Ash chuckled in agreement. He stopped laughing and asked, "Do you really think Ghetsis had Eddie and the rest of his air force take the DNA Splicers to the Sevii Islands?"

"Maybe," I responded softly and shrugged. I looked down at the cuddly Eevee in my arms. Eevee was looking back at me and licked my nose. I smiled and hugged Eevee tightly, but not too tight. I wanted Eevee to be comfortable. Ash and Pikachu looked at each other and smiled.

"We should try to get some sleep," Ash suggested.

"Okay. Good night, Ash," I responded.

"Good night, Hyron," he said and turned off the lamp in our room. The next morning, we were the first to wake up. Ralph still had not come back. Neither did Sophia and Damoré.

"I hoped that they would be back by now," I mumbled. I heard footsteps, and then, I turned around. Sakura and Misty were coming down the steps. I greeted them, "Good morning!"

"Morning," Sakura groggily returned the greeting. An equally tired looking Vulpix was on her head. Sakura was another one of those who were lucky in a way. "I would have let my Ninjask out of its Poké Ball, too, but someone would have a nervous breakdown if I did."

"I can't help it if I'm afraid of bugs!" Misty exclaimed defensively.

Just then, the phone rang. I picked it up and hit the talk button. "Hello?"

"Hyron?" I heard Ralph's voice say my name.

"Ralph! You're okay!"

"More or less. We hijacked one of their airships and are sailing to the Sevii Islands. I think that Eddie had to take the item to an old warehouse on Five Island. Besides, maybe we can rescue some Poké Morphs while we cease the item."

"You stole the boat?" I asked in astonishment. My instincts were right last night.

"Oh, yeah. And this flying boat is one sweet ride. I almost wish you all could be here, but there is no room for mistakes," Ralph said to me. His words kind of hurt. He was so afraid that we would screw up.

"Do you want me to put you on speaker?" I asked.

"Sure. I'm sure the rest of the gang wants to hear my voice," Ralph answered. I put the phone on speaker and set it on the receiver. "Now, who is there?"

"Sakura, Misty, Ash and I," I answered flatly. I was still kind of insulted by what Ralph had said moments prior to that moment.

"Hey, Ralph. Glad to hear that you're still in one piece. Where are you?" Misty was the first (after me, that is) to speak to him.

"En route to Five Island," Ralph replied. "How are things back home?"

"Quiet," Sakura answered. "How are you getting to Five?"

"By a stolen flying boat, Sakura."

"You stole one of Team Plasma's ships?" Ash asked.

"Pika?" Pikachu added in question. I mentally translated that to 'Huh?'

"Yes, we did. Not a bad ship. But this baby isn't fully loaded. The one that contained Kyurem on the other hand…"

"That's the one that froze most of Unova," Ash recalled.

"Hi, guys!" nine-year-old Ziggy darted down and greeted us.

"Hey, Zig, where's Leon?" Sakura asked.

"He's upstairs, waiting for Dawn," Ziggy answered. "I heard Ralph's voice! Is he here?"

"No, Ziggy. Sorry. I'm heading to Five Island," Ralph said on the speaker. "Oh, I remembered the name of the kid who faced N a while back. His name is Hilbert, but I have no idea where neither he is nor where N is. But they have Zekrom and Reshiram, so they'll give us a fighting chance against Kyurem. Well, I have to go." Thus, he hung up. I pressed the red button on the phone.

"Dawn is still sleeping?" Ash asked Ziggy, who replied with a quick nod.

"Oh, the poor girl," Misty sighed. "She's been through so much. Too much for a girl her age…or any age."

Then, a plucky Piplup waddled downstairs. Following it were Leon and Dawn. Leon held one of Dawn's hands and guided her down the stairs. Without her white cap, I could clearly see her light blue Pachirisu ears. She looked tired. Even more so, she looked like she had been crying. She managed to put on a smile and patted Leon on the head, thanking him for helping her (though she probably did not need help going down a flight of stairs) and that he was very sweet for doing so. Pikachu rushed over to Piplup, and the two started a conversation. Then, Azurill joined in. Sakura and I let Eevee and Vulpix go meet Piplup.

"So, that Team Plasma…they sure are mean," Ziggy tried to make small talk.

"Yeah. I hope that they don't discover Eddie is a spy," Leon added.

"Actually, I think Eddie is flying back today. Maybe he'll pass Ralph and the others," Sakura claimed. "So, Dawn, how did you sleep?"

"Not bad," she answered flatly. She held up her Pachirisu tail and claimed, "Sometimes, my tail makes a great pillow."

"Hyron holds his for comfort," Ash stated and glanced at me. It was true, and I was not about to deny it.

"I fidget with mine when I get nervous," Leon proudly claimed. It must have been some sort of attempt to impress Dawn.

"Well, um, where have you been before Hyron and Sakura found you the other day?" Misty asked.

"In trees or in abandoned and condemned houses," Dawn claimed. "That's where I have slept. They wouldn't look there unless they got desperate enough." She had a point. Unless Team Plasma had become obsessed with slaughtering every single last Poké Morph, they would not deign themselves to looking in such places.

"We won't let them hurt you," Ash promised. He had that usual look of determination in his eyes.

"Can I be her bodyguard?" Leon begged.

Dawn ruffled his hair and giggled. She laughed, "Thanks, Leon. That's sweet, but I don't need a bodyguard." Leon looked a bit disappointed, but smiled when Dawn ruffled his hair a second time.

I kept my mind on Damoré, Sophia, and Ralph. They were not in a type of good situation. They were in a bad one. I was sure of one thing Ralph forgot to mention, he and the others were being chased. If they stole an airship, the rest of the fleet would chase the stolen airship. No doubt about it. Later, in the afternoon, the phone rang again. This time, it was Eddie. "Hello?" I greeted.

"Hyron, is that you? Listen, I don't have a lot of time to explain, but I won't be flying back until tomorrow. Our departure got delayed for some reason. Ghetsis probably wants to ensure maximum security. Is Ralph there?"

"No…" I answered hesitantly. What would I tell him? What could I tell him? That Ralph, Damoré, and Sophia decided to go nuts and steal a flying boat? I decided that was what I should tell him, and so I did.

"Well, he guessed our location correctly. At least, he did at first. I just got a note that says I am supposed to take a bunch of grunts to Mount Ember tonight. Do you know anything about Mount Ember, Hyron?" Eddie asked me.

Mt. Ember? I searched my mind for an answer, and found one at last. "I have heard that Mount Ember is where the legendary Pokémon, Moltres, sleeps. It's a Fire- and Flying-type. Its flames are super hot, but I'm not sure if they're hot enough to completely melt Kyurem ice. I wonder what they want Moltres for…" Then, another answer hit me. "Oh! And also, there is supposed to be some precious gem deep inside! But I have no idea what they would do with it."

"Sounds interesting…oh! Got to go! As soon as I am done dropping off the grunts at Mount Ember, I'll fly straight back." Eddie told me and hung up. What did Ghetsis want at Mt. Ember? Was that madman going to make the volcano erupt? There was a thought that scared me. I added that to the endless list of things involving Team Plasma that scared me. I found my Eevee sitting at my feet. I picked the little cutie up and plopped down on the couch. After several minutes of petting, Eevee fell asleep on my lap.

"Hyron?" I heard a voice say my name. I turned my head and saw Leon. He was asking, "When are Ralph and Eddie getting back?"

"Hopefully tomorrow, Leon. To be honest, I have no way to be sure," I answered truthfully. "Maybe we should find Hilbert and N. They could help us with Zekrom and Reshiram. There are a lot of people we could call on." Suddenly, my ears perked up. I could hear crying from upstairs. It must have been Dawn. All day, the poor Pachirisu Morph had had on-and-off emotional breakdowns. "Why don't you cheer Dawn up? I think she would appreciate it." Leon smiled and dashed upstairs. He passed Ziggy, who was walking down the stairs.

"What's gotten into him?" Ziggy asked me as he approached me. Ash was sitting in a nearby chair with Pikachu.

"We wonder that about you on an average day," Ash replied and chuckled. "I made a funny!"

"More or less," I shrugged at him.

"Leon just entered dangerous waters," Sakura told us as she came downstairs.

"In his defense, I told him it would be a good idea of he tried to cheer her up," I told her.

"That must have been why he had his Teddiursa doll with him!" Sakura gasped in realization. "Now, that makes much more sense than what I first thought. Okay. I see, now."

"What did you first think?" Ash asked.

"To be honest, I don't really know," Sakura admitted.

Whatever Leon did for Dawn did the trick. She was quiet the rest of the night. Ash and I were in our room again. I was curled up with Eevee under my covers. He was curled up with Pikachu under his covers. At around two in the morning, the phone rang. His Pikachu ears perked up, and so did my Eevee ears. Ash ran downstairs and picked up the phone. "Hello? Eddie? Wait, what?! Are you sure?! Oh, no! Did they swim to shore? Okay, thanks. See you later." I had followed him down. He looked at me and said, "The ship Damoré, Ralph, and Sophia stole was shot down. Eddie thinks that they swam to a sandbar in the Water Labyrinth, but he isn't totally sure." My eyes widened at the news. Ralph, Damoré, Sophia; shipwrecked? I didn't know whether to cry or scream, so I held both in. Ash looked at me with sympathy and equal sadness. They were his friends, too. "Need a hug?"

I nodded. We embraced in a hug that was almost brotherly. We went back upstairs to take in the news and went back to sleep in our beds. At seven that morning, Ash informed us, "Oh, and also, Eddie has the Splicers and is going to hide them. He made Team Plasma think that they have the Splicers." I sighed with relief. At least we had some good news. And Eddie was in his way back now. He would be a sight for sore eyes.


	4. The DNA Splicers

**So, here is the fourth chapter. This is a very important chapter, and you will soon see why. Lately, I have been thinking about having the readers become more involved by accepting OC's. It's a tough choice…**

**Chapter 4: The DNA Splicers**

Sakura and I decided that we would go meet Eddie, who said he would land in Celadon City. I was not a big fan of Celadon City. Not anymore. It was now a ruinous city with a thick coating of smog. I knew that it had a pollution problem, but it just got ridiculous after the Poké Virus outbreak and Team Plasma took over the world. We walked into the city, and we knew we did because we heard the squishing of the grime beneath our feet. I held my tail high, so it would not get stuck in the filthy grime. Sakura had done the same thing. Grimer and Koffing filled the streets and the open air between the buildings. Empty bottles, both glass and plastic covered the streets. So did cigarette butts, soda cans, plastic bags, wrappers, forks, you name it! The city had gone into an unforgettable panic when Team Plasma had come around. We went to the south of town, where the old Gym was. It had burned down. Sakura and I were waiting for Eddie by a heap of charred rubble and long dead plants. A gray plane with the Team Plasma insignia on it descended right by the rubble. Eddie hopped out of the cockpit and was holding a small steel box. I began, "Is that…?"

"Yep. The DNA Splicers," Eddie nodded. "We have to sabotage the plane, and fast. Otherwise, Ghetsis could be able to track my plane." With that, Sakura dashed past Eddie, hopped into the cockpit, and jammed a hidden knife into the controls. Eddie approved, "Yeah. Like that." He tore the Plasma insignia off of his uniform. He opened the box and Sakura looked inside. I looked, too, and found myself looking at some sort of oddly shaped needle. I thought of what the gray needle was capable of. It had the power to fuse Kyurem to Reshiram or Zekrom. My fur stood on end. I glanced over to Sakura, and I noticed she was shivering at the thought of Ghetsis having the Splicers in his hands. I squeezed her hand and gave her a smile of reassurance. She smiled back at me. Eddie looked at us and said, "Okay, save the Morph love for when we get back to Saffron." We both blushed, and Sakura gave him an angry glare. We all ran back to Saffron City. Eddie was not a particularly fast runner, so every now and then, Sakura and I had to stop and wait for him. We continued like this all the way to the hideout.

"Hey, Eddie," Ziggy greeted as we walked in. "What's in the box?"

"A piano," Eddie told him sarcastically. Ziggy swiped the box from him.

"There's no piano in here. Ooh! A popsicle!" Ziggy picked up the Splicers.

"No! That object is the DNA Splicers!" Sakura panicked. "It's funny, though. 'Splicers' sound plural, but this is only one thing."

"Oh! Okay. Sorry," Ziggy put the Splicers back in the box. I gave him a pat on the head and realized that Ralph would have done the same thing. I suddenly really missed the Sceptile Morph. I walked over to the couch to find Dawn curled up on it. She was staring at something in her hand. It was a gold heart attached to a chain, and the chain was around her neck. I then realized that she was staring sadly at a locket that Lucas must have given her before Team Plasma took him away. She was humming a song—a country song, I believed. Every three to five minutes, she would alternate songs, but there were only two that she would hum. When she was done with one, she would hum the other, and when she was done with that one, she went back to the first one.

"The poor thing," Misty mumbled softly, so Dawn could not hear her.

"Yeah," Ash quietly agreed.

"Who is that?" Eddie whispered into my ear. I realized that we had found Dawn after he left for the Sevii Islands.

"This is Dawn, the first ever Poké Morph, and Ash and Misty's old friend," I explained quietly. Dawn may have only been humming, but I could tell that she had a beautiful dinging voice. She switched songs again. This song was a little faster than the other.

"She was humming these songs earlier. She even told me the names of the songs," Leon stated proudly. "The faster one is 'Mine' by Taylor Swift, and the other one is 'Enchanted' by…Taylor Swift. I just realized that they are by the same artist."

"They're on the same album," Sakura stated. "They must remind her of…you know."

"Actually, I don't," Eddie reminded her that he just met Dawn and did not know her story. Ash took him upstairs to explain.

"Do you remember we were sitting there by the water? You put your arm around me for the first time," Dawn sang softly, almost inaudibly. She was flipping the locket over and over in her palms as she sang.

"She told me they were two of her favorite songs," Leon told us. It was clear in my mind now. Leon was the one out of all of us who Dawn would talk to most; who she felt most comfortable talking to. He had somehow made it clear to her that he was a good listener. He was her friend. We all were her friends, but Dawn was talking to Leon more than she was talking to Ash, who she had known for years. She went back to humming.

"You're doing a great job, Leon," I commended him for doing his best to comfort her.

"That's it," Eddie marched downstairs and said firmly. "I hate Team Plasma more than ever, now. I'll see to it that fighting them from the inside will get me somewhere."

"You already did," Misty claimed and gestured to the steel box that had been put on an arm of the couch. I looked at the needle in the box. The thought of what it could be used for was almost as chilling as Kyurem itself. I could not describe how scared I would be if I was face-to-face with Ghetsis and Kyurem. Rather than thinking about it, I looked over at Leon, and the Shinx Morph was leaning on the back of the couch, watching Dawn play with her gold plated locket and listening to her hum.

"Hey, Hyron," Ziggy called out my name. I faced the Zigzagoon Morph, interested in what he could have to say. "What are we going to do with the DNA Splicers?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. Now that we had them, what could we do with them?

As if she heard my thoughts, Misty suggested, "We could lock it up in a safe."

"Nah. Ghetsis would just have a team of top scientists or burglars use stethoscopes to crack the combo. We need to do something that will make sure he will never get them," Ash objected. "What can we do that Ghetsis can't? Where can we go that he can't?"

"Hmm…" everyone's minds were being put to work. We all thought long and hard.

"We should throw the Splicers into the ocean!" Ziggy suggested with excitement. That was it!

"That might not be a bad idea," I supported. "We just need to find a trench deep enough to throw them in. Deep enough so he can't fish them out. Any ideas?"

"Well, there are some really deep spots in Undella Bay in Unova," Ash began.

"There are plenty of deep trenches in the Hoenn region," Ziggy added.

"And there is plenty of open sea surrounding Four Island," Sakura continued. We had a lot of good options. But some equally good ones stuck out in my mind.

"What about the underwater caves in Oblivia?" I asked.

"Any of those could work," Leon supported my idea.

"We could toss them anywhere, but we have to make sure Ghetsis does not get his hands on them," Eddie said to us. He had a point. We had no idea where Ghetsis was capable of reaching.

"Where can't he go? Team Plasma has major control over the whole world," Ziggy asked, absolutely clueless.

"Well, there has to be some place!" Leon insisted.

"Let's just burn them," Eddie sighed.

"That might be a bad idea, either. There is a place Ghetsis can't go and return: oblivion. If worst comes to worst, we may have to destroy the Splicers," I claimed. There was some murmuring among my friends, but not of disapproval. They knew I had a point. "Do they even know we have them?"

"No. At least, not specifically us. By now, they have probably guessed that the DNA Splicers were stolen," Eddie shook his head.

"Then, that means we are safe for the most part, right?" Leon asked. I nodded to him, and his face lit up. He touched Dawn's shoulder. "Dawn, we're going to be okay!" Dawn just continued humming, as if she didn't hear him. She might not have. Ash had commented on how much she had changed as far as mentality was concerned. She did not seem as "all-there" as she used to. The trauma with Lucas' abduction must have had the worst affect on her. My ears drooped when I looked at her. I could not help but pity her. She seemed so…sad and, well, alone. There was a lingering pang of sorrow for her in my chest. I was sure my friends felt the same way.

**Okay, so the team has the Splicers. What will they do with them? Who will step up and lead with Ralph out of the picture? Why am I asking so many questions when I (should) already know the answers? Oh, and I am sorry that this chapter was shorter than the past three. **


	5. Searching Silph

**I am so sorry about the long wait. My power was out for almost two weeks. Anyways, I have a poll up on my profile that will decide the fate of this story. (And I am never using multiple selections again unless it's an out of the blue question with more options) So, please vote if/when you can. **

**Chapter 5: Searching Silph**

The following day, we got into groups and went supply hunting in the old Silph Co. building. Sakura and I were a group of two. So were Ash and Misty. Leon and Ziggy were supposed to be a group of two, but we couldn't think of anyone better to accompany Dawn than Leon. For some reason, he was able to get through to her. I was not sure how. At the time, I did not care. My Eevee trotted loyally at my side as we walked through the building. Files were all over the floor and desks. Team Plasma had made Team Rocket raid the building and take what was important after they took over. Team Plasma…the heartbreaking life wreckers. I clenched my fists. I growled. Each step I took was more forceful than the last. "Hyron!" Sakura's voice stopped me in my raging tracks. I thought she was going to try to calm me down, but instead, she pointed to a damaged TV screen that hung lopsided on the wall. I couldn't believe my eyes. I was looking at…bodies. I was staring at dead bodies floating in an area of water. They were Poké Morphs. A Sceptile Morph, an Absol Morph, and a Liepard Morph. Our friends… I focused on the details of each one of them. First, I stared at Ralph's lifeless body. He was face down in the water. Part of his thick, leafy tail was missing, and what remained attached to him had bled profusely. His back was draped with raw-looking cuts. His whole body was a raw, bloody mess. Then came Damoré. He was face up. He was covered in cuts as well. I noticed that his jet black claws, horn, and tail were dyed red from…blood. He was mutilated by his own appendages. And lastly was Sophia, who had bled in places that I did not even want to think about. My friends had become victims of bloody murder. Team Plasma took them away, just like they took away international freedom.

"No. This—no!" was all I could utter. It was so hard; taking in the fact that they were gone forever.

"I know," Sakura choked up.

"Vee?" Eevee looked up at me with a worried expression. It knew that Ralph, Damoré, and Sophia were gone. It was worried about how I would take it. A symbol of true loyalty. I was suddenly very proud to be an Eevee Morph. Tears began to flow from my eyes. Without thinking, I went to the first corner I saw, sat down, hugged my knees and cried. I was not sure if Sakura was crying, too. I was not sure if my little Eevee was confused or saddened by me being so upset. All I was sure of was that Team Plasma was a group of fascist takers. All that blood and all those cuts; I would never be able to erase them from my mind. When I finally looked up, everything seemed so still. Sakura had turned away, probably intending to turn away for a few moments, but required longer time to avoid eye contact. I was sure that the others had seen or heard that the deaths of Ralph, Sophia, and Damoré were official.

When we all met up back at the hideout, we were all depressed. Ash threw up in the sink. Ziggy buried his face in a couch cushion and bawled. However, our depression suddenly seemed to lift when we heard guitar music coming from upstairs. Leon informed us, "It's Dawn. Lucas taught her how to play guitar a while back. She's really good, isn't she?" She was good. She was great. I felt very soothed as chords flowed down the stairwell and into my long Eevee ears.

"Where did she get the guitar?" Sakura asked.

"I took it from the old Silph building," Ziggy lifted his head up and answered. His Zigzagoon tail wagged as he was happy something he picked up was being put to good use.

"Dawn always thought she was born to perform," Ash recalled. "Where is Eddie?"

"I think he's flying a kite on the roof," Leon answered. "He wants either me or Ash to take over flying the kite."

"I don't doubt that. It's not going to hurt too much if either of you gets hit by lightning," Misty stated.

"I remember the last time I was hit by lightning. I was bouncing off walls for an entire week," Ash recalled, "but that was a dream."

**So, that was the fifth chapter. Please remember to review and to vote on my profile. It will determine a future event in the plot. So long as a few more people vote, I won't have it up for much longer, so please seize this opportunity. Thank you all. I'll try to have more up when I can get it up. Once again, sorry for the long wait. Also, I am sorry this chapter turned out to be so short when prior chapters were about 2,000 words each. It's a funny thing. My shorter chapters are usually my more emotional chapters. **


	6. Forced Evolution

**Me: Sorry for the short wait and the lack of words in the last chapter. This chapter is VERY eventful. As the title suggests, someone or something is forced to evolve, but who/what? You'll have to read to find out.**

**Chapter 6: Forced Evolution**

A few days later, Sakura and I were walking down the streets. We were undercover, as we were draped in long cloaks that would conceal our tails. It was perfect. No one suspected a thing. There were actually people out today. Maybe they felt safer outside when they learned about Ralph's death. Normal humans always seemed to feel securer for a short time each time the death of a Poké Morph goes public, as if we were a disease or a hidden mafia or something. They may have felt safe, but I did not. That was why I left Eevee at the hideout. With each footstep I took, I felt nervous. You see, Saffron City was the largest in Kanto. Our hideout could not have been the only one containing Poké Morphs. Team Plasma might come along and search it. They did that to Castelia City. Ghetsis turned it into an international public event. The people of Unova would go to the city and watch in person as Team Plasma would strip, beat and/or drown and/or burn Poké Morphs at the stake. I felt so sick. We all did. We forbade Leon and Ziggy to watch it on the TV. On that day, Ash threw up much more than he had yesterday. Back to the present, I was scared that they would do the same things to us in Saffron. My heart raced like a Ponyta having a sugar rush. That was fast. Very fast. Sakura muttered to me, "Hyron, don't be so skittish. We'll be fine." We had gotten so close to the point where it was almost like we shared a mind. She grasped my hand, and I blushed. Her hand was so warm and her presence was so soothing. I was almost cross with her cloak for concealing her magnificently curled tails. That head of crimson hair of hers…wait. Was I falling in love? With my best friend?

"Okay," I said absentmindedly. "I'll calm down. I just…look; Saffron is a big city, like Castelia over in Unova."

"Uh-huh," Sakura nodded. Then it clicked. She looked at me, "You don't really think—?"

"It is a possibility. A scary, gory, humiliating possibility," I told her. She nodded, understanding I was right. She knew it deep down all along that it was a possibility. We ran into a man whose arm was basically all tattoos. We knew him. I was never a fan of him, but we knew him nonetheless. He knew about us and always kept the Poké Morphs he knew a secret. His tattoo artist was a Smeargle Morph.

"Hyron, Sakura," he stopped us with his low, deep voice, "I'm very sorry about Ralph. He was a good friend of mine, and he was probably a lot closer to you two."

"Thank you, sir," Sakura thanked him in a small voice.

"C'mon, Sakura, you know me. You can call me by my name," he said to her. He went by Buzz because he was a bug maniac in his youth, and still had those Bug-types that he caught then. Back when there was order and decency in Pokémon training. When there was culture to battling and style and grace and elegance to the use of moves. Some of the normal humans still go off on journeys, but not like it used to work. All of the Pokémon Research Facilities that refused to join Team Plasma if not already owned by them were shut down—by any means necessary. Professor Oak led the uprising of Pokémon professors. It was only after he said no that the others had the courage to do the same. Since then, I saw him as a hero. Buzz spoke up, awaking me from my trance. "So, where are you two love foxes headed?"

"Um…" I stuttered. I was unsure how to respond when I realized that Sakura and I were still holding hands. Instead of letting go, I held on. "Just around." Luckily, our cloaks had hoods. The hood of my cloak concealed my blush in shadow.

"Would you like the honor of seeing my newest tat?" Buzz asked us.

"Um, sure, if you don't mind," Sakura shrugged. I nodded. He twisted his arm so we could see. On his thick, muscular bicep was a Sceptile, an Absol, and a Liepard. I almost cried when I saw the tattoos. Sakura let out an, "Aww!"

"Take care, you two," Buzz said to us as he walked past. We walked a few steps and heard a gunshot. We whizzed around to see Buzz. He was in shock. A bullet was embedded in the pavement right where he took his most previous steps. Following its path, I spotted a sniper on the roof of a house.

"I smell trouble," Sakura growled. Out of the corner of my eye, in the shadows, I saw a uniformed person handing money over to a small boy who was at the age of ten or eleven. The boy ran up to us and tore off our cloaks, revealing our ears and tails.

"They're not one of us!" the boy screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Run!" Buzz yelled to us. The sniper took aim at us. Sakura and I dashed off as fast as we could. He took out a Poké Ball, no two. We would have been killed if Buzz's Forretress and Scizor hadn't blocked the bullets with their steel exoskeletons. We ran and ran until a blockade of Team Plasma grunts with their pirate themed uniforms blocked our path. Sakura spat out a curse word in frustration. I glanced back. Buzz was being handcuffed by another Team Plasma grunt. I spotted Ash and Misty in their cloaks. I could not see their faces, but I could tell that they were shocked. Just then, that same little boy tore off their cloaks and grunts surrounded them. I was scared stiff.

"Grab them!" an admin shouted. The Plasma grunts tackled us, punched us, kicked us, and pulled our tails. The pain was too much. The rest was a blur. I passed out. When I came to, I was on my knees. My hands were tied behind my back. Someone was crushing my tail under their foot, making sure I would not scurry off. Metal walls were everywhere. Every fifty feet or so, the Team Plasma insignia was decorating either side of the hallway I was in.

"Hello, my little Eevee Morph," a man in a lab coat crouched down in front of me so we were at eye level. "You know what is so special about the Pokémon whose genetic code is riddled in yours? It is no ordinary genetic code. It is a rather bizarre one that allows Eevee to evolve into one of seven different species of Pokémon. Eevee is a crucial test subject to evolution researchers everywhere. Unfortunately, your options are limited today."

"Limited? My options? Wait! You're not—?" I began.

"Oh, we are. Today, you will evolve. I will see to that," the scientist claimed. I always wondered what evolution felt like, but I was not ready to find out. "Now, you likely will never be our friend, so the options of Espeon and Umbreon are out. To be a Glaceon or Leafeon requires a special rock that we unfortunately don't have. Therefore, you will have to evolve into a Vaporeon Morph, Flareon Morph, or Jolteon Morph. Behind each of these doors is your destiny," he gestured to three doors in front of me. Each door had a picture on it. One had a Fire Stone. One had a Water Stone. One had a Thunder Stone. "Now, behind the door with the Fire Stone is your Vulpix girlfriend." I blushed at the word 'girlfriend'. We were not boyfriend and girlfriend. I guess we could have been, but at that moment, we were just best friends who were trapped in a horrible situation. "Behind the Thunder Stone door is your Pikachu friend. There is currently no one in the Water Stone room."

"Sakura," a tear trickled down my cheek.

"And your Marill friend evolves through the term 'leveling up', so we're forcing her to battle in a training room," the scientist informed me. I simply stared at the Fire Stone on the door, so he must have assumed that I wanted to be a Flareon. The guard's foot was raised from my tail. I wiggled it to make sure it was okay. It was sore, but no bones were broken. The next thing I knew, I was strapped to a metal table in the Fire Stone room.

"Hyron?" Sakura gasped. I turned my head to see her concerned face. "Hyron, you're okay?"

"Are you?" I asked. She nodded. I then said, "I'm fine. Tired, stressed, and worried, but physically fine." Metal claws fell from the ceiling. In each one was a Fire Stone. Without warning, the claws dropped down fast, slamming the Stones into our chests. Each of us glowed. I grimaced, looked over at Sakura, and saw that in her light, her tails uncurled and split from six tails to nine tails. She was becoming a Ninetales Morph. My tail felt like it was being stretched. It had become longer and fluffier. When the lights faded, I saw that Sakura had nine long, gorgeous, fluffy blonde tails. Her curly crimson hair was now straight and a light shade of blonde. I saw my own tail, and then looked in a mirror. Both the fur of my tail and hair on my head had turned golden yellow. My brown Eevee ears were reddened, like that of a Flareon. Our bindings expanded, releasing us. I gasped, "You look…beautiful."

I did not think she would hear me, but she did. She asked, "Do you really think so? Hee-hee! You don't look half bad. I think you'll be a great Flareon Morph!"

"Ah," the scientist came in. He smiled, "The evolution was a success. All four evolutions were successful!" That meant that Ash was a Raichu Morph and Misty was an Azumarill Morph. After about an hour of having each of us go through _humiliating _examinations, we were all thrown in a cell together. Ash's Pikachu ears were now short, curly Raichu ears. His tail was much longer and had a lightning bolt at the end. The only thing about Misty that changed was the length of her ears. They were now long Azumarill ears.

"So, you both decided to go blonde?" Ash joked. No one laughed. He went on the defensive, "Oh, I'm kidding. Geez, you guys are a rough crowd. I'd have better luck getting laughs out of rocks."

Sakura curled herself up in her nine new tails. They were so long that the only thing you could see of her (excluding her tails) was her head. Okay, you could see her shoulders, too. But not burying her head in her tails was probably her choice. Otherwise, we would see a beautiful dome of fur adjacent to us. I was stroking the fur of my own new tail. I felt very different since my forced evolution. It was like there was an enormous fire in my scrawny body, and it felt very good, whether you believe it or not. We all sat in silence. Just then, there was a loud boom. I heard things like "No! It can't be! Zekrom?!" and "It's N! That traitor!" My ears perked upwards.

"N?" Ash repeated. All four of us looked out of our cell to see the green haired ex-king of Team Plasma. But his hair was not entirely green. It was red and black towards the top of his head. He had a little black tail. N Harmonia was a Zorua Morph, and most likely completely by choice. Ash called over to him, "N!"

"Hello, fellow Poké Morphs," he said to us and opened the cell. Once we were flying on his Zekrom, he started answering our questioning looks of surprise. "You see, I found it to be one of my ideals; understanding the hearts of Pokémon even more than I already did. So, I broke into the main laboratory in Unova and snatched the DNA of one of my favorite Pokémon, Zorua. Your hideout was ransacked by Team Plasma. Ghetsis was there personally. That filthy swine…anyways, Dawn, Leon, and Ziggy managed to escape and contacted me for help."

"Thank goodness," Misty sighed in relief.

"But they're checking Saffron for any and all Poké Morphs. Your friends managed to grab your personal items and the Pokémon that you left behind, which was for their own safety, I presume," N guessed.

"Yeah. I would never put Pikachu through what we just went through," Ash vowed.

"Good," N nodded in approval. "I remember hearing about Ghetsis taking control of Kyurem. Its icy power is dreadful. The ice it creates is next to unbreakable. Not even Drayden and his powerhouse Dragon-type companions could break it, or even scratch it. Only Hilbert's Reshiram or my dear friend, Zekrom, could stand a chance against Kyurem. Of course, there are other legendary Pokémon who could combat it, but they either live in other dimensions or would not want to take the risk. Being under his control, Kyurem has acquired Ghetsis' ferocity; his ruthlessness and merciless ways. It sickens me to no end."


	7. The Illegal Poké Morph Inn

**I do not own the song used in this chapter. I'm more of a Selena Gomez fan, but this song seemed to describe the singer very well. **

**Chapter 7: The Illegal Poké Morph Inn**

N flew Zekrom below the tree line and did something mildly peculiar. He said, "Zekrom, back to the Dark Stone!" Zekrom was soon a little black ball in N's hands. I gasped in awe. That was quite a show. N then explained, "In ancient times, Zekrom and Reshiram were reduced to the Dark Stone and Light Stone. I turned Zekrom back into the Dark Stone so we could travel undetected."

We soon encountered Eddie, who guided us to our new, most likely temporary hideout. It was an old sea cottage at the edge of Route 25. It was owned by Bill, a Poké Maniac, and a revered one at that. He was still a pure human (much to his dismay). He wanted to be an Eevee Morph or a Morph of its evolutions. Thus, he got _very _excited upon meeting me. He greeted, "Hello! Oh, you must be Hyron! You're Eevee is adorable and a very polite Pokémon."

"Um, thanks?" I said, unsure on how to reply to his enthusiasm. Bill was nothing short of a Pokémon enthusiast. My Eevee looked at me, tilted its head, and then I told it everything that happened. I concluded with, "I'm sorry I worried you, Eevee."

"Vee!" Eevee mewled. It had forgiven me, and was glad that, other than being forced to evolve, I was unharmed. I picked it up and cradled it in my arms. Pikachu perched itself on Ash's shoulder. Leon and Ziggy hugged us all.

"We were so worried about you," Leon whimpered. I had never seen him so upset.

"You all look different," Ziggy noticed. "Sakura looks hot!"

This not only caused Sakura to blush, but me as well. Sakura did look amazing. I really was falling in love. At least, I thought I was. The humiliation of that day just seemed to keep adding on. But at last, nothing too embarrassing happened after that. I felt so weird. I was no longer Hyron the Eevee Morph. I was Hyron the Flareon Morph. The change would take some getting used to. The cottage was huge. It was far too big to be considered a cottage. Yet, it was far too small to be considered a mansion, or even a regular house. Most of the cottage was actually underground. Bill was one of those pure humans who did everything and more to help Poké Morphs. He, with the help of Pokémon, kind people, his bare hands, his own money, and a shovel, he created an underground Poké Morph inn, and didn't charge any Poké Morph or anyone who supported them a dime, nickel, or penny. It was amazing! Ash and I slept in a room. Misty and Sakura slept in a room. Ziggy and Leon slept in a room. Eddie stayed upstairs with Bill. Ash and I were in our little bedroom. The Poké Morph Inn. Business was surprisingly slow, but I supposed that when it's illegal, you can't advertise it without getting your head chopped off. What I found to be the scariest was that Ghetsis personally trashed _our _hideout of all the Poké Morph hideouts in Saffron. Ash and I had a little TV in our room. He turned it on, and it showed us a rerun of what happened not long after we were kidnapped.

"It would appear," Ghetsis had said on the program, "that the Poké Morph kind is a hybrid species of gluttons for punishment." On a small portable stage was the Smeargle Morph tattoo artist. He ended up just like the Morphs in Castelia City. He was stripped and publicly tortured. By the end of the program, he was his own victim. They painted him with his own Smeargle tail, and then they tried to dry out his tail. I felt sick. Ash turned it off.

"You okay, man?" he asked. I nodded. I was not sure if that was a lie or not. He then tried to console me. "I felt sickened by that, too. It was just…awful!"

"That poor man," I whimpered. Ghetsis had to be stopped. I'm so glad N was on the scene and saved us. Though, I wondered about Hilbert. Where was he? Was he on his way? I decided to let those thoughts go and go to sleep. I felt scared, and I felt off. It was so weird. I still felt the same, but, after evolving, I felt different at the same time. It was an odd, kind of hollow feeling.

"Yeah. No one deserved that," Ash grimaced at the thought of that Smeargle Morph. My Raichu Morph friend shuddered, and we both decided to sleep and sleep until we forgot about that public display of torture. Unfortunately, that didn't work. I must have burst into tears in my sleep, because my face felt wet from my salty tears when I woke up. The reason I say salty was because I licked the corner of my lip and that was what it tasted like. I was so freaked out and stressed out by the thought of what the retched Team Plasma was capable of. My whole body shook violently.

"Ash?" I whispered to my friend.

"You're still freaked out?" Ash guessed groggily.

"How'd you guess?" I asked.

"Because we're Poké Morphs. What Morph wouldn't be freaked out by the TV program we saw last night?" he asked rhetorically. He had a point. I had just realized that I had not seen Dawn. I went up to Bill and Eddie and asked where she was. They said she was outside, looking at the sea and playing that guitar she picked up from the old Silph building. I went out and saw the Pachirisu Morph sitting on a bench, strumming her guitar and humming 'Enchanted', one of the two songs she would hum in our old hideout. And I was able to hear her sing the whole song for the first time, and with the sunrise in front of her; in front of me; on the watery eastern horizon. Her voice was soft, yet audible in the stillness of the rising sun and coming morning.

"There I was again tonight, forcing laughter, faking smiles  
Same old, tired place lonely place  
Walls of insincerity, shifting eyes and vacancy  
Vanished when I saw your face"

She continued, unaware of my presence.

"All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you

"Your eyes whispered, 'Have we met?'

across the room, your silhouette  
Starts to make its way to me  
The playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks  
Like passing notes in secrecy

And it was enchanting to meet you  
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you"

She sang louder at what I assumed was the chorus.

"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go  
I'm wonder-struck, blushing all the way home  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
I was enchanted to meet you"

She quieted again, but never silenced. I knew she was singing about her boyfriend, Lucas.

"The lingering question kept me up, 2 a.m., who do you love?  
I wonder 'til I'm wide awake  
Now I'm pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door  
I'd open up and you would say

It was enchanting to meet you  
All I know is I was enchanted to meet you"

She grew louder again. She had known the Taylor Swift song by heart. Every note and lyric was etched in her soul.

"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go  
I'm wonder-struck, blushing all the way home_  
_  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

This night is flawless, don't you let it go  
I'm wonder-struck, dancing around all alone  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
I was enchanted to meet you"

The next part she sang seemed somewhat different from the rest, but I knew that she knew that was how the song went.

"This is me praying that

This was the very first page, not where the storyline ends  
My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again  
These are the words I held back as I was leaving too soon  
I was enchanted to meet you

Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you  
Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you"

The chorus came again, and she sang and played it. Her voice and her guitar were in complete sync. Along with the chorus was the conclusion of the song.

"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go  
I'm wonder-struck, blushing all the way home  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

This night is flawless, don't you let it go  
I'm wonder-struck, dancing around all alone  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
I was enchanted to meet you

Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you"

She got up, and turned back to the cottage when she saw me. She smiled and greeted me, "Hey, Hyron."

"Dawn, that was amazing!" I exclaimed, so distracted by her performance that I was unable to return her greeting.

"Do you really think so?" she asked.

"I do, I do!" I nodded enthusiastically.

"I sang it and thought of Lucas," Dawn confessed.

"You miss him a lot, huh?"

"Oh, so much! More than anything I wish he was here! I can't even imagine what Ghetsis is doing to him! Lucas…"

At that point, it hit me. So many sacrifices were made with good intentions for Poké Morphs. Lucas gave his liberty up to protect Dawn and allow her to escape. Ralph hijacked an airship to interfere with Ghetsis' plans, and at the cost of his life. Buzz had shielded Sakura and I. Professor Oak, along with many Pokémon Professors of the world, stood against Ghetsis, even at the risk of losing his lab. And Eddie worked against Team Plasma from the inside and stole the DNA Splicers, which was very heavy treason. They all had the same legacy; to brighten the future for Poké Morphs and to free the world of Ghetsis' iron rule. To stand up for what was right, no matter the sacrifice. I could not let that legacy die, not after all of those brave souls worked so hard to preserve it. We went inside, and I said exactly what I realized to my friends.

"You want to rebel?" Misty summarized.

"That's what I've been doing," Eddie pointed out.

"We can't let Ralph's sacrifice be in vain, nor anyone else's, because quite a few people stood for Poké Morphs at the cost of their freedom or their lives. To let that go in vain is like slapping them in the face and turning away from them," I claimed. "We have to fight for ourselves. Just because Ralph is gone doesn't mean we have to hide in fear. I don't want to be afraid anymore. We can't be afraid anymore."


	8. Rescue Mission

**I am sorry about taking so long to update. I was in the middle of a few stories. For the past few weeks, I have wanted to only focus on my crossover, but then another great story idea popped into my head. So, I finished both of those within the past few days and am now focusing on this story and another. Enjoy! Short, yet eventful. **

**Chapter 8: Rescue Mission**

After listening in on a radio and eavesdropping on some grunts, we learned of a Team Plasma prison. To our knowledge, Buzz was being taken there. Eddie, who still (surprisingly) had Plasma clearance, was able to literally hold the door open for us. Us Poké Morphs, in our long, concealing cloaks, walked in as he held the door open with his Plasma Card and disabled security. I was determined to do whatever it took to finish what Ralph and the others started. To get Buzz out. To free Poké Morphsfrom Ghetsis' lies that made so many people prejudice. They could not stand us, and believed we were the reason why they got the bad end of the stick of tyranny that Ghetsis held.

"I'll head to the detention hall," Dawn said to us. "Trust me. I've learned a thing or two about stealth within the past five years, long before this stupid virus exploded."

"Okay," I approved, "just be careful, Dawn."

"No need to worry," Dawn winked. I thought I spotted Leon plush under the hood of his cloak.

"Can I go with her? Please, please, please?" Leon begged us.

"Fine. You'd better be careful, too," Ash instructed. Leon nodded and dashed after Dawn. He looked at Ziggy and asked, "You're not going with Leon?"

"No," Ziggy shook his head. He was uncharacteristically unenthused. Even in the face of death, he was usually inconceivably hyper. No one questioned him any further, but we all must have been thinking about how bummed out he seemed. So, we all continued running. Our target: the archive in the control room. The information in there could have been very handy to us.

While hiding behind a wall, I felt something brush against my hand. I realized it was one of Sakura's tails. Then, I blushed. It was so soft. However, I could not lose focus. I simply could not lose focus. We gave Ziggy the task of stealing the keys from a guard. What he did would have been considered illegal, not to mention knowledge that should not be in the mind of a nine-year-old. I was perturbed, but impressed nonetheless. He gave Misty the key to the control room. She opened the door. The room was massive and filled with so many screens. All of the data that was on these computers…thinking about it made my head spin. I took out a flash drive that Eddie had given me and plugged it into the computer. We were able to download several files. Then, grunts poured in without warning. Sakura held Ziggy protectively. Two grunts grabbed Ash and I and ripped our cloaks off, revealing our ears and tails.

"Well, the Morph is out of the bag," Ash grunted with regret. I whimpered. It was embarrassing, but I could not help it. Then, Ash said my name. "Hyron. Hyron, we have to force them back. Hyron!"

"Right!" I nodded to him. He fired a huge burst of electricity at the grunts. Meanwhile, with all of my will, I blew a huge column of fire from my mouth. It was incredible. My adrenaline was rushing and I felt so sharp, focused, and on top of the world. The grunts recoiled from the fire and electricity. We charged through them as they tried to register the shock of what just happened. We ran down to the hall where Dawn and Leon split off from us and found that they were waiting for us. They were waiting with a boy wearing a hat. He had little ears poking the top of his hat, and they reminded me of the ears of an Oshawott. Then, I saw it. He had a navy blue Oshawott tail. I realized it was Hilbert, wielder of the legendary Dragon-type, Reshiram. Next to Dawn was another boy wearing a hat, but he was not a Morph. I realized it was her boyfriend, Lucas. Behind Leon was Buzz, and behind Buzz were several Poké Morphs. Dawn and Leon had exceeded the objective of this mission. They saved everyone who was imprisoned by Team Plasma. I let out a "Wow!"

"You freed them all?" Misty asked; impressed.

"Of course," Dawn nodded. "C'mon! We're getting out of here! Because it looks like you have some friends and/or hitchhikers." She pointed behind us, pointing out an angry mob of Plasma grunts.

"ACK!" Ash screamed. "Let's get the heck out of here!" He ran out of the base, which gave Eddie a bewildered look on his face until he saw the hoard of grunts.

"Right behind you," I said and the rest of us followed him. And where did we run to? We ran to Mt. Moon. Their airships were too small to get at us all there. Plus, it was close to Pewter City, where a friend of Ash, Misty, and Dawn resided.

"It has been a while," N said to Hilbert.

"Yeah. It _has_ been a while. How have you been, N?" Hilbert asked. They were rivals, but they were friends moreover. They gabbed as such the whole way to Mt. Moon.

"So, Hilbert," Ash interrupted, "you're an Oshawott Morph?"

"Yep," Hilbert nodded in confirmation. "And you appear to be a Raichu Morph."

"Dang straight," Ash confirmed.

I looked behind me. Dawn and Lucas were conversing and even kissing. Leon was but a few feet away. His tail drooped as he walked. I slowed down a bit until I was walking next to him. I said, "Chin up, little buddy. I'm sure it means a lot to her that you helped her save him."

"Really?" Leon asked. I nodded, and he smiled. "Thanks, Hyron!" My little Eevee friend leapt from my shoulder to his and licked his cheek. "Ha, ha! I guess it means a lot to you, too, huh, Eevee?" I laughed and scooped Eevee up into my arms. Leon looked me in the eyes and asked, "So what next?"

"We keep rebelling until we're free of Ghetsis," I said with a smile. I liked Leon. I saw a lot of myself in him. He was shy, timid, but he was brave when he needed to be and he had one of the best and purest hearts I have ever seen. He was quiet and reserved. He was quick. His reflexes were sharp. I was a bit sad that I couldn't call him my little brother. Then again, perhaps I could. And what he said next confirmed it.

"Hey, Hyron, I kind of…I've always thought of you like a brother or a really good friend."

I looked at him and smiled, "You took the words right out of my mouth, kiddo."

"Vee!" Eevee cheered and nuzzled my face.

"You know, it kind of saddens me that a lot of Poké Morphs are scattering all over, but it is in our best interest," I said randomly. Then, I remembered that Ghetsis still had Kyurem. That incredible power…

"Hyron?" Sakura's voice called out. She grabbed my hand and asked, "Why are you shivering?"

"Oh, sorry," I said, "I was thinking about Kyurem. That kind of power seems so…incredible. People freeze to death just being near it. It seems like one heck of a Pokémon."

"Yeah. Not even our fire could melt it, I bet. Sounds like a scary powerhouse Pokémon to say the very least," she agreed.

"Yeah…"

We reached Mt. Moon and set up a few tents. N stared at the moon shining above us. "How beautiful."


	9. Genesect the Hunter

**Here's my first update for 2013! Enjoy! (Note: This chapter is a little bit more on the violent side compared to past chapters. I did give it a T-rating for a reason.)**

**Chapter 9: Genesect the Hunter**

Luckily for us, the old rest stop on top of Mt. Moon was still there. The owner, like very few, supported Poké Morphs, so he let us stay with him. Buzz had decided to go on a journey and be a spy for the resistance. It was just too bad the Gyms were forced into closing down. He could become much stronger by training in one. Alas, according to Hilbert, Ghetsis had used Kyurem to conquer the Unova League Elite Four. He had even severely injured Iris, who had been Champion of Unova at the time. Pokémon Connoisseur Cilan had rushed to her aid and hid her from Ghetsis. Then, to the entire world, Ghetsis had threatened to make an example out of anyone who resisted, just like he had with Iris. Of course, many of the noble Elite Four Trainers resisted. Arceus knows where they were now.

"It's so sad and shameful; such incredible power in the hands of such a misguided creature!" N clenched his fists. "It's gotten so out of hand that it has become hard for me to call him 'Father'! He must be stopped!"

"That goes without saying," Sakura commented.

There was a clap of thunder. Leon yelped. In spite of him being an Electric-type Poké Morph, he was not a fan of thunder or storms. I blamed Ash for begging us to watch horror movies together. I gave Leon a brotherly hug, and the Shinx Morph seemed very grateful. Ziggy joined in. He didn't thunder or electrical storms, either. I said to them, "It's alright, you guys."

"No need to worry!" Dawn exclaimed in a rather upbeat mood. She was probably just giddy she had her boyfriend back. Under the circumstances, and for that amount of time, who wouldn't be? I had never seen her so happy. Her unbridled enthusiasm made me smile. It made everyone smile.

"Hey, there's the Dawn I used to know!" Ash said with a grin on his face.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Are we going to die?" Ziggy asked.

"No, silly! We'll live while we can and we're not going to let Ghetsis get us!" Dawn winked.

"Has he who fears death truly lived?" Hilbert rhetorically asked.

"That's the personal adage of an old friend of ours," Misty informed him. Old friend? I had no idea who she was speaking of, but that friend must have been wise beyond his or her years.

"What old friend?" Sakura asked. Then, Ash, Misty, Lucas, and Dawn suddenly clammed up on us.

"Really? Your old friend? Huh. I had come across him and those were the words he said to me," Hilbert informed them. "He covered me as I left Unova. Then I got caught the moment I stepped off the ferry."

"Smooth," Sakura sarcastically commented.

"Yeah…" Hilbert agreed sheepishly. "So, what's the plan?"

"We have to destroy the DNA Splicers," Ash announced.

"If we do, we'll have a fighting chance against Kyurem," Lucas agreed.

"Why not take the Splicers to Cinnabar Island and throw it in the volcano?" Misty suggested.

"Sounds perfect!" Ziggy agreed.

The owner of the shop gave us a lovely meal. It was past eight o'clock, so it was time for him to close up shop. However, he had not had much business in ages due to Team Plasma constantly sweeping the area and scaring everyone. Dawn decided, "Okay, so here's the plan. Lucas and I will take the Splicers to Cinnabar Island."

"You had better bring the younglings with you," N recommended. "I have a funny feeling that my former followers will be here by morning."

"Really?!" Ash asked in a shocked tone. "But we just ditched those creeps!"

"Exactly why they would want to hunt us down," Sakura pointed out. One of her nine tails twitched uneasily. We all went to sleep with that on our minds and perfected our plan. The next morning, Eddie took the Splicers out of the box, gave it to Ziggy, and then handed the box to Ash. Dawn, Lucas, Leon, and Ziggy were given a head start before sunrise. By sunrise, Team Plasma had shown up, surrounding the gift shop.

"Greetings, fugitives, traitor, meddler," Zinzolin greeted, addressing N as a traitor and addressing Hilbert as a meddler. Two Cryogonal floated loyally above him. He snapped, "Give me the DNA Splicers!"

"You mean the contents in this?" Ash asked and held up the small iron box.

"Yes."

"Mm…nope!"

"You leave me no choice then. Release…the hunter!" Zinzolin commanded. A giant metal box descended from the sky. As soon as it opened up, a scary, purple Pokémon with glowing red eyes emerged, making an inexplicable, yet terrifyingly creepy noise. My heart raced as I gazed at the cannon on its back. It had a metallic body and sharp, dagger like claws. Zinzolin cackled, "Meet Genesect!"

"Oh, no!" N gasped, as if he was in some sort of nightmare.

"What in the name of—" Eddie began. He had never seen or heard of Genesect before.

"Genesect, go now! Techno Blast!" Zinzolin ordered. Genesect fired a blast of energy at Ash. It hit the ground beneath his feet, causing the ground to explode. Ash fell back, and the box fell out of his hands. Eddie caught the box, and then passed it to N as Genesect began attacking us, following the box. The box landed in my hands. However, I was not quick enough to react. The speed of Genesect was deadly. The second I caught the box, one of its steel claws gave me a deathly blow.

"HYRON!" I heard Sakura scream. Time seemed to slow down. Everything was hazy. I felt a warm embrace and lots of shouting. Though my vision was fuzzy, I was about to make out the burst of a massive bolt of electricity and the glow of an enormous flame. Then, everything went black. The nothingness around me after I passed out was unnerving. What was happening? I felt lost and detached. Were my friends okay? Were the Splicers destroyed? Was I going to die? Nothingness surrounded me. Unnerving. Unnerving at the very least. Any other feelings—any higher feelings, they were impossible to describe. Could I have been in a coma? I thought I heard the voices of my friends. They were…crying? Over me?

Later, I came to and was staring into Sakura's eyes. All nine of her tails were wrapped around me. She hugged me tightly once I was awake. I asked weakly, "What…happened?"

"You were stabbed by Genesect. I though you were a goner," she sobbed with tears of joy. "I'm so happy you're alive! I'm so happy I could…"

"You could…?" I urged. She was about to do something, but Ash walked in, interrupting whatever it was she was going to do.

"You're okay!" he exclaimed. Tears were in his eyes. He then informed me, "It went hitch-less! Dawn gave Leon the honor of throwing the DNA Splicers into the volcano. We have a huge chance. We've evened the odds!"

"That's great!" I smiled and said hoarsely. I truly was happy to hear the news, but it's hard to sound excited when you've been nearly killed by a prehistoric, futuristic bug within the last…how long was I out? Sakura gave me a peck on the cheek. Ash smiled at me. His Pikachu and my Eevee looked at me with joy.

"Eevee!" Eevee jumped into my lap as I wrapped my tail around it. My smile grew wider and more joyful at the sight of my partner's cute, fuzzy face and huge, chocolate brown eyes.


	10. Recuperation

**In this chapter, our heroes meet a very special Pokémon. Hyron shares his experience recovering from the Genesect attack. Hilbert explains the legend behind the legendary Dragon- and Ice-type Pokémon, Kyurem. Hilbert also discovery a harmony between Zekrom and Reshiram; ideals and truth.**

**Chapter 10: Recuperation**

I wasn't sure what Sakura wanted to do due to her happiness, but I had a feeling it would be a while before I found out. No one would let me out of my "bed" (sleeping bag). I wasn't in _that _much pain—ouch! Yes, I was. That one strike by Genesect took more out of me than I anticipated. So, I just lied in my sleeping bag, cuddled with Eevee, had a bowl of soup, and talked with whoever was in the room. When Hilbert was in the room, I asked, "How long have you been a Trainer?"

"A couple years," Hilbert answered. "How do you feel?"

"Exhausted," I replied plainly. He nodded as if he expected so. Who wouldn't expect me to say that? That attack could have been fatal. I worried for Leon, Dawn, Ziggy, and Lucas. Team Plasma was still at large, they had powerful Pokémon like Genesect, and my friends were on the other side of the Kanto region. "Do you know much about Kyurem?"

"A little bit. Genesect is new to me, but Kyurem I know of. Let's see…according to my old friend Iris, Kyurem is the remnants of a once great and powerful Dragon Pokémon. This Pokémon was very loyal to the heroes of Unova. They were twin princes, I think. But then, the princes had a horrible feud of what they thought was superior, the truth, or ideals. Conflicted; the Dragon split into two known as Reshiram and Zekrom. That is why Kyurem has both the powers of Zekrom and Reshiram, along with its own power. Some say it's the most powerful Pokémon on the planet!" Hilbert explained.

"Was that your Reshiram and N's Zekrom that saved us today?" I asked. He nodded. I then noticed a round, white stone in his hand.

"Both N and I discovered that we have the power to will Zekrom and Reshiram respectively back into the Dark Stone and Light Stone, again, respectively. This is the Light Stone."

"Wow! That is something. I've never heard of anything like that."

"I haven't either. It was Reshiram who showed me how it was done. But my big worry is Kyurem. Not even the power of Drayden and his Haxorus could even scratch ice from Kyurem. I think that's where Never Melt Ice comes from."

Under my sleeping back, just thinking about ice so cold, strong, and sturdy made the fur of my tail stand on end. That would mean that only the fire of an incredible powerful Pokémon or Poké Morph could melt ice like that. Sakura and I probably wouldn't have a chance at melting ice like that. Plus, Kyurem was a Dragon-type. Dragon-types were debatably the most formidable of all seventeen Pokémon types. Therefore, the Pokémon among them were some of the most difficult to raise. Patient Trainers with an undying love for Pokémon were usually the ones to become Dragon Masters. Ghetsis had total control over Kyurem, which meant that if we didn't have Zekrom and Reshiram, we'd have been doomed.

The next thing I know, I was shivering with fear. My fluffy tail was in my arms, as it always was when I was frightened. Even after evolution, old habits died hard. Eevee was also frightened by the thought of Kyurem's awesome power. It snuggled with my tail best it could and mewled at me, not wanting to freeze to death by the great Dragon- and Ice-type. Hilbert crouched down and scratched Eevee's head, and then he put a hand on my shoulder. He said, "We will win. I beat Ghetsis once, against all odds. If we stand strong, it can be done again, Hyron." I smiled at the sound of my name. Hilbert was one of the most confident Poké Morphs I had ever met. He was willing to fight for what he believed in. He said to me, "N and I fighting this thing side by side. This, now that I think about it, is truly a big example that the truth and ideals go hand-in-hand. I guess that Trainer I met when I escaped Unova was right. The two ancient heroes didn't have to quarrel."

"That's beautiful, Hilbert," I said to him. Then, I winced in pain.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine. It's the wound again," I explained, clutching my bandaged chest. I was getting too excited. Rest. Rest was what I needed. I took a few deep breaths, Hilbert gave me a pat on the head (which I strangely enjoyed), and I closed my eyes and drifted off. When I came to, Dawn, Lucas, Leon, and Ziggy had walked into the old shop. Leon rushed in to see me. I greeted him, "Hey, little buddy!"

"Hyron, are you okay?" he asked sweetly. The nine-year-old knelt down next to me.

"Leon, I'm fine. I just need a little rest," I promised. "I'm just glad you weren't there to watch it happen. You would have probably been horrified."

"Really?" Leon asked, taking my word for it, yet wanting to know more.

"Yeah. They made a Pokémon called Genesect attacked me. It nearly killed me."

He gave me a hug and said, "I'm glad it didn't, Hyron." I responded by returning the hug to the Shinx Morph. Then, I noticed he was bruised and cut.

"Leon, did you guys run into trouble on the way back?" I asked. He gave me a modest, innocent nod. "Was a metallic Bug-type Pokémon with them? A purple one with a huge cannon on its back?" Again, he nodded. "That's Genesect!"

"That was Genesect?! We barely made it off of Cinnabar Island alive!" he exclaimed. "It was about to shoot me with its cannon when a horse Pokémon with a bright red mane, a horn on its head, and a lush blue tail came to my rescue from the water. Lucas said it was a mythical Pokémon called Keldeo."

"Keldeo?" I repeated.

"Yeah. It was really cool and it even came back here with us!" Leon nodded. His big, yellow eyes glowed, even though it was light out. Then, a horse Pokémon fitting Leon's description ever so perfectly trotted into the room. "Hyron, this is Keldeo! Keldeo, this is my friend, Hyron!"

"Hi," I waved to it. Its horn was jagged and navy blue. It was a sharp, powerful sword wielded by a being with a big heart and the speed, strength, and will of a thousand knights.

"How do you do?" Keldeo asked. Its lips never moved, though. I was shocked.

"Was that…telepathy?" I asked it.

"Yep," Keldeo nodded.

"Keldeo told me it is in Resolute Form!" Leon informed me rather excitedly. Leave it to Leon to quickly bounce back from being dreadfully frightened or majorly depressed. "It probably has the strength to take on Kyurem!"

"Really?! You're truly that powerful?!" I asked in astonishment.

"I don't know, actually. I sacrificed myself to save my friends and teachers when one of Kyurem's attacks went in the wrong direction," Keldeo admitted.

"Just the fact that you fought Kyurem and _survived_ amazes me!" I told it. Keldeo let out a low whinny which I took to be a chuckle.

Sakura came in to check on me. She crouched down, but turned her head to Keldeo, asking, "Who's that Pokémon?"

"This is Keldeo!" Leon informed her.

"Hi," Keldeo greeted.

"Hi," Sakura greeted distractedly. Apparently, she was much too worried about me to be shocked by the talking unicorn in the room. She wrapped three of her tails around Eevee and slipped another one into my hands. She felt my forehead and asked, "How do you feel now?"

"Better, I think," I answered. She was so, so, so worried about me. I felt guilty for making her so concerned. "Aren't the tails of a Ninetales supposed to be cursed or something?"

"Hyron, I wouldn't put a curse on you, even if I was technically supposed to," she said to me. That helped me feel better. I smiled. She smiled. Leon remained smiling.

"Thanks, Sakura," I said to her, still smiling. After being given and consuming a bowl of soup, I drifted off to sleep again.

**One discovery leads to another mystery. Why did the twin heroes of ancient Unova argue over truths and ideals? Why hadn't they seen the harmony that they are in? And does that even pertain to this story? (To that last question, even I don't know the answer. Perhaps it will. Maybe it won't.)**


	11. The City of Ice

**We have a very special announcement. This will be the conclusion of Poké Virus Outbreak. With that being said, I just want to thank all of you who read this. It has been an honor. Boy, this was a long chapter. Characters, anything to add?**

**Ash: This will be so epic!**

**Hyron: I'm excited. Hopefully, you all are, too!**

**Misty: On with the story!**

**Sakura: Ghetsis plus comeuppance equals happy Sakura. **

**Eddie: Yeah. We'll see what happens. Even with what Sakura said, there are no guarantees as to what will happen. Well, there are, but we won't **_**make**_** those promises. **

**Hilbert: In other words, until the end of the chapter, only we know what happens. **

**Ziggy and Leon: Enjoy the story!**

**Chapter 11: The City of Ice**

We were on the move again. We could no longer stay at Mt. Moon. However, something happened, and we had never anticipated it. As we scurried to Pewter City, a Plasma Frigate floated over it, blasting it with its ice cannon. The city was becoming a collection of icy pillars. Suddenly, Ash and Misty starting running towards the city of Pewter. Dawn demanded, "Where do you two think you're going?!"

"That's Brock's hometown!" Ash called back, causing Dawn to gasp. Brock had been one of her old friends as well. Then, Dawn bolted off, so the rest of us followed. That was Kyurem who powered the cannon, I realized. The mighty Kyurem being used for such an unjust purpose…I then knew how sick that thought made N feel. By the time we all got to Pewter City, nearly everything was frozen over. Even the entrance to the museum was blocked by pillars of ice. Leon was scared stiff. He shivered so much out of fear his whole body was a vibrating bundle of nerves. The fur of my tail was a puffy mess because I was frightened and cold. Ash and Misty kept running, darting around icy columns and frozen street corners until they reached a stone building.

"Brock! Brock!" Misty was banging on the door.

"It's Ash and Misty! Are you alright?" Ash pounded on the door. A young man with dark skin, an orange V-neck shirt, and green cargo pants opened the door. Ash exclaimed, "Brock!"

"Ash? Misty?" Brock asked. Misty nodded in confirmation. Brock inquired, "What are you doing here?"

"We were forced out of Mt. Moon. When we saw the Frigate, we had to make sure you were okay," Ash stated.

"Me? I'm fine, but you won't be if you get spotted. Hurry! Come on in," Brock invited us in. I ended up learning he was the old Gym Leader. He seemed to have a very strong relationship with Pokémon of all kinds in spite of the fact that he was a well-known Rock-type specialist.

"This is crazy," Sakura muttered. She was referring to Kyurem, Team Plasma's greatest offense, being right over our heads.

"W-w-what are they going to do?" frightened little Leon asked.

"I don't know," I told him, "but we won't let them win."

"Team Plasma must be stopped," Hilbert agreed.

Yes. They needed to be stopped. Ralph gave up his life to tell us that. He was truly a brave Poké Morph whose name should have made the hearts of Morphs everywhere sing. He was killed to send a message. Through his death came the life of a legacy. We could not let that legacy die here!

As if he read my mind, Ziggy cheered loudly, "It's not over until the fat lady bathes!"

"You mean 'sings'," Dawn corrected.

"Is that how it goes?"

"Bathing aside, Ziggy is right!" I spoke up. "Ralph died trying to stop those guys! Professor Oak gave up his precious, world famous research for the liberty of the Poké Morphs of the world! We can't give up! Especially not with Ghetsis directly over our heads!"

"Yeah!" Ash cheered in agreement.

"Death to the Plasmatic Tyrant!" Eddie added.

"A plan is beginning to form in my mind," Brock smiled. He turned to Keldeo, and then to us, and then out the window at the flying boat.

Much later, Keldeo was standing alone on the icy street. Loudly, Keldeo challenged, "Kyurem, I feel a rematch is in order! Come down and face me! Today, we can truly battle for the title of world's strongest Pokémon!" Kyurem fell from the hull of the Frigate and landed with a loud thud in front of Keldeo. The Colt Pokémon guessed, "So my challenge is accepted?"

A man in creepy black robes, Ghetsis, appeared on a floating platform. The tyrant claimed, "I think and speak for Kyurem now. I accept your challenge so I may make an example of you. Do not think I don't know of your masters, the Swords of Justice. I almost succeeded in acquiring them, but they overpowered my grunts."

"…" Kyurem was unnervingly silent.

"I think I'll start, then! Focus Blast!" Keldeo called out. It fired a Focus Blast at Kyurem. It caused a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, it didn't do any visible damage, but it was a super effective attack. It must have done something.

"Kyurem, punish that pony! Dragon Pulse!" Ghetsis ordered. Kyurem fired a burst of draconic energy, but Keldeo was too quick. The Water- and Fighting-type dodged with such agility and grace.

"You missed me!" Keldeo teased. Everything was going according to plan. With Ghetsis distracted, we all made it to the roof of the museum, and from there we snuck onboard the Plasma Frigate.

"Now, if I was a reckless driver, which I am," Ash began, "where would I crash a boat?"

"Anywhere!" Misty snapped hastily.

"There's an art to crashing things, you know."

"This is a suicide mission," Sakura groaned in protest.

"Not if we jump," Ash pointed out.

"Jump?" Leon repeated nervously. He seemed quite frightened by the thought of jumping overboard a flying boat right over the most epic and most explosive Pokémon battle in recorded history. I was afraid, so I couldn't blame him.

What we didn't expect is Ghetsis letting Kyurem rely on its own battle instincts. The wicked madman was soon floating above our heads on his platform. He sneered, "Well, look what we have here."

"It's very difficult for me to call you this, but…Father! Please, stop this madness before it is too late," N implored desperately. "Is it truly better to be feared than loved?"

"Love softens a good ruler's iron fist. That's why you failed. Your love for Pokémon blinded you from controlling them. It could have been _you_ on this platform right now!" Ghetsis responded, gradually raising his voice. "BUT YOU FAILED!"

"_You're_ what blinded me from seeing the true bonds of people and Pokémon!" N shot back. "If anything, it is _you_ who has failed! You fail to see Pokémon as more than just tools! You fail to see that people are more than just slaves! You fail to see that Poké Morphs are not the circus freaks you claim them to be!"

"You had better watch your tongue, boy," Ghetsis snarled at him.

"I have a better idea!" Ash cut in. "You ought to watch where you're going!" With that being said, he made the Plasma Frigate rotate. The mast hit Ghetsis in the back and made him tumble off his platform. He was hanging onto the rails, trying to preserve his life. I was unaware of how close I was to Ghetsis until he grabbed my tail and grasped it firmly. I let out a scream born of pain and terror. The pain was from having a grown man hanging onto my fluffy tail as if it was a rope. The terror was from the possibility of being yanked over the edge of the ship.

"Hyron!" Sakura gasped. I began to pull my tail, trying to yank it free of the wicked tyrant's deathly hands.

Tears began to well in my eyes. I tried to hold them back, but Ghetsis wouldn't allow it. He had a hammer in his pocket for some strange reason. With one hand around my fluffy appendage that I so often cuddled for comfort, he used the other hand to search one of his robe pockets. He pulled out the hammer and as hard as he could, brought it down on my tail, breaking some of its bones with a mighty crunch. I screamed in pure pain this time. I was sobbing.

Through my tears, I just barely made out Sakura unleashing a huge amount of flames right in Ghetsis' face. Ash somehow landed the Frigate mostly intact (he didn't quite get where we were telling him to land). As we exited, I sniffled, "It hurts." Of course, I was talking about my precious tail.

"I know it does," Sakura claimed sympathetically. She gave me a hug as I cuddled with my tail, trying to avoid touching the broken area, yet trying to cover and protect it as well. We made it back to Brock's place and learned that Keldeo was victorious over Kyurem. Keldeo seemed quite pleased. Brock, who had been a Pokémon Doctor-in-training, had the broken area of my tail set and casted. I was still in pain, but not as much as when Ghetsis struck it with the hammer. Sakura came in to see me. She greeted softly, "Hey. How's the tail?"

"Bad," I sighed, "but I guess worse things could have happened."

"That's a good way to think," she smiled. Three of her tails gently stroked mine. We both caught each other blushing. She was about to withdraw her tails, but I ended up protesting the action. She sat down next to me and turned on the TV in the room. N was making a speech, and it was being telecasted worldwide.

"Good people, Pokémon, and Poké Morphs of Earth, today, the ruthless Ghetsis is dead. Team Plasma has no one to lead them. They're being forced to disband. This is hopefully that start of glorious Poké Morph freedom. I became a Morph by choice so that I may feel what they feel and see the world like they do. The world is not that different in their eyes, but they've lived in fear for far too long. I've always dreamt of peace among Pokémon and people. Poké Morphs are the bridge between them, having Pokémon instincts and human sentience. Poké Morphs are the brothers and sisters to all; to people and to Pokémon. Today is the day we finally start treating them as such," N spoke.

His words moved me. I could tell they moved Sakura. She placed her head on my shoulder and exhaled in comfort. The Flareon in me found her alluring. The Hyron in me found her as possibly more than my friend.

"Things such as love, revenge, sunshine," N continued, "the important things that tend to be overlooked or fragile, those are universal, no matter who or what we are. Freedom is universal. Peace, prosperity, hope; all universal things. There truly are very few differences between humans, Pokémon, and the hybrid Poké Morphs. I cannot force anyone but myself to do anything, so today, I force myself to implore that the ridicule, the humiliation, the taunting, the tail-pulling, etcetera, all minimize so that we can be happy and restore Earth's glory once again. We cannot stop prejudice, for there will sadly always be some in the world, but we can at least slow it down."

"Words to live by," I smiled. My little Eevee jumped into my lap. Sakura snuggled up against me.

"Hey, guys. Are you watching the speech?" Eddie came in and asked. I nodded to him. He came in further and watched with us.

"Becoming a Zorua Morph was life-changing. It was probably the best thing I could have done for myself. To be able to see the world through someone else's eyes, yet to be able to keep myself in check; it is a truly priceless gift. It has an inexplicable, extraordinary feeling. I thank all of you who are watching and I now declare the war between Team Plasma and anyone who so chooses to stand up for what is right and rebel against them over!" N concluded.

Cheering could be heard from near and far. My friends and I could finally live without pulling out our fur out of worry. We could live without having eggs thrown at us or being cursed at or beaten. N was right, there would always be some prejudice in the world, but I think it was greatly slowed down today. Being an Eevee Morph and then evolving into a Flareon Morph was life-changing for me, too.

The next day, my friends and I went back to Saffron City, wanting to live in the old hideout. Brock remained in Pewter City. N and Hilbert went back to Unova, and Keldeo disappeared into the horizon. Eddie would be traveling all over in order to fulfill his dream of being a great pilot. In time, my tail healed. Almost all the time, I saw Leon as the little brother I never had. He was a cute little guy. Eventually, he got over his feelings for Dawn. Well, sort of. So he claims. He'd write a poem about her every now and then, and he was actually very talented at it. Sakura spent a lot more time together. Ziggy could finally resort to unbridled hyperactivity (hey, you have to let loose after hiding and being so quiet and still for so long).

One day, we were all sitting around at home. Dawn had been strumming her guitar, and Lucas playfully told her, "The student has become the master."

"You're a good teacher," Dawn remarked.

"So Lucas taught you to play guitar?" Ziggy asked. The Pachirisu Morph nodded cheerily.

"That's interesting," Leon said thoughtfully. "You play so beautifully, Dawn."

"Aww! Thank you, Leon," Dawn thanked him. She gave him a little pat on the head.

Sakura looked at me and smiled. It was a cute smile. It was a warm smile. It made me think of how we were always there for each other during the rough times. Those rough times, for the most part, were over.

**The end**


End file.
